The most boring city ever. The most boring cities in the world. The best city for shopping

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In continuation of the conversation about the most-most, we will touch on the negative aspects that tourists note. Today - the negative top-list of Europe. Look for your favorite city and in it too.

Of course, the same city may seem "the most boring" to someone, and someone spent their most unforgettable vacation in their life here!

Everything is relative, so we only take into account this information.

The dirtiest city in Europe

1. London
2. Paris
3. Rome, Athens

The most boring city in Europe

1. Brussels
2. Zurich, Oslo
3. Warsaw, Zagreb

The most unfriendly locals

1. in Paris
2. in London
3. in Moscow

Well, here Moscow "lit up". You and I, dear fellow travelers, are among the most unfriendly in Europe. Personally, I absolutely agree with this opinion. In part, the difficult economic reality, disorder and instability dispose us to this, in part, our genotype is to blame, and in part, it is simply the lack of culture and ignorance. Who in what ratio - decide for yourself, but the fact remains: tourists with us in our city are uncomfortable.

I can't help but stand up for Brussels. Brussels is boring only to those who see Brussels as a failed attempt to copy Paris. But in fact, Brussels is an amazing city of contrasts. It is in it that the elegance of Paris is combined with the constructivism of Washington, and the avant-garde of Dubai with the infill development of Moscow. The European Commission is located in Brussels, which is located in the quarter of the same name - the quarter of the European Parliament, where, by the way, a job exchange was held for those who are looking for.

This quarter is something unimaginable for a large European city: powerful, huge, mostly white buildings, in which the history of Europe is being created. They, like the Stalinist skyscrapers, suppress the common man, reminding that "one is nonsense, one is zero."

Therefore, you will not meet tourists in the European Quarter, they do not write about this quarter in guidebooks, but in vain - it is very informative, especially for the Europeans themselves, who live in the fruits of the labors done here. Immediately after this quarter, the usual residential outskirts begin.

The global travel portal TripAdvisor has published the results of a survey of 1,400 tourists from around the world, where Moscow appears as one of the most unfriendly cities in Europe.

The global travel portal TripAdvisor has published the results of a survey of 1,400 tourists from around the world, where Moscow appears as one of the most unfriendly cities in Europe. At the same time, if Moscow turned out to be a "winner" in only one category, then the capitals of Great Britain, France and Italy appear on several lists at once - London, Paris and Rome scored both the largest number of positive and negative points.

London, according to travelers, turned out to be the most expensive city in Europe with the busiest nightlife and the best public parks, yet won the title dirtiest European capital. It is noteworthy that London ranked second in the list of unfriendly cities and, at the same time, third in the list of cities with the most friendly population, according to NEWSru.com.

Paris retained its reputation the most romantic capital of Europe. In addition, it outperformed its rivals in the Best Cuisine category, ranked second in City Attraction and Public Parks, and third in Nightlife Opportunities. At the same time, Paris leads the list of cities with the most hostile population. In addition, it ranks second in the lists of the most expensive and dirtiest cities in Europe.

In Rome, tourists were fascinated, first of all, by local residents: the capital of Italy is in the lead according to the attractiveness of the citizens. In other nominations, Rome took more modest places: the second place in the nomination "Best Cuisine", the third - for romance and the best shopping and, at the same time, high cost and pollution.

Close the list provided by the portal the most boring, according to tourists, European cities - Brussels, Zurich and Warsaw. At the same time, if Zurich ranks first among the cleanest cities in Europe, then Brussels and Warsaw appear only in an unattractive list of boring cities.

In addition, prizes in various categories went to Amsterdam, Barcelona, Budapest, Venice, Dublin, Copenhagen, Lisbon, Prague, Stockholm and Florence, with Prague winning the title the cheapest European capital.

It should be noted that Moscow has previously been in the top twenty of the dirtiest cities on the planet, compiled by the British research company Mercer Human Resource Consulting. In that ranking, the Russian capital is in 14th place. The rating was compiled on the basis of data on the degree of waste disposal, the level of air pollution, the suitability of water for drinking, the level of medical services, the availability of medical supplies and the spread of infectious diseases in 215 major cities around the world.

We also recall that representatives of the Russian tourist industry have already expressed concern about the fact that every year there are less and less foreigners wishing to visit Moscow. In 2007, the flow of tourists decreased by ten percent.

In the early nineties, they drove en masse, then they stopped. It affects both the level of service and the high cost, as well as the lack of new tourism products: over the past seventy years, tourists have been shown the same thing.

One of the attempts of the Moscow authorities to change the situation was "Glass Streets" - a new project of the capital's architects. This road from Neskuchny Garden to the business center "Moscow City" crosses the Moscow River three times. Five kilometers of the way - five thousand monuments and 260 historical buildings. Part of the route will be covered with a transparent cap made of durable plastic. And the other reality that frightens tourists, apparently, should remain outside of it.

As for residents of the capital, according to last year's survey by the Russian Public Opinion Foundation, most Russians noticeably distinguish Muscovites from residents of other cities, although they look at Moscow as an ordinary big city.

Cities where nothing happens. Cities that, in their charisma, lose even to a dish called “jelly”. The percentage of dullness of being is especially visible if you find yourself alone in them. Places where the most important thing, as my friend says, is not to get sober. Otherwise, there is no salvation.

I have absolutely nothing to say about some cities. And sometimes I couldn’t even find photos, so soulless Google maps will represent this or that city. But it is very important that you read this post to the end, because the last paragraph is the whole point.
So let's go...
1. Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei)
The first place and forever the leading position was left to itself by the capital of the Sultanate of Brunei - Bandar Seri Begawan.

End place. Walking along Bandar Seri Begawan, it seems that there were more people in Chernobyl at the peak.
Well, not that there are no people at all, but there are no pedestrians! Everyone, absolutely everyone drives cars. During a three-hour walk, we met 3 (!) people walking. By Brunei standards, one might say they were crowded! Oh yes, another Chinese man was blowing his nose outside his shop. Okay, 3.5 people in total!!!
aVisiting this, one of the most developed countries in Asia, was the most absurd travel investment I have made in the last few years. Even a day to visit it is a lot. For two days in Brunei, I envied the citizens of Israel - they are not allowed here under any circumstances. There is nothing else in this city.
2. Kulyab (Tajikistan)

Kulyab is the last stronghold before the Afghan border and the road to the Pamirs. One hotel, opposite the market, between them - the road. All. This is Kulyab. A! the only other salvation in this city is the bus station. From here you can leave.
The entrance to the city is crowned by the inscription “Do not leave children unattended” installed on the house.

For $70 at the Khatlon Hotel you will get a non-working air conditioner, a torn off cornice, turned out light bulbs, mosquito corpses smeared on the curtains and a refrigerator (and it was!) with a “minibar” in the form of an unfinished bottle of Coke left by previous residents.
Through the holes in the shower cabin, the hands of the guests from the lower floors could well stick out. Well, at least the light in the bathroom did not turn off at all - the switch was broken. Because the entire fauna of Kulyab, which lived there, still needed it for reproduction. At night, mosquitoes from there visited us with a return visit.
As usual, the ray of light is the locals. Kulyab - this is the case just when the phrase "But we have good people!" quite appropriate as a rescue. There is nothing else in this city.
3. Kuchin (Borneo, Malaysia)

If the orangutan hospital were not located nearby (and it is not located there), a trip to rainy Kuchin is meaningless. And for the sake of a pair of orangutans, it makes no sense to fly to Borneo. There is nothing else in this city.

4. Dakar (Senegal)

oh no... Dakar is still on the list of "The most vile cities in the world." The busiest city I have ever seen.
5. Tegucigalpa (Honduras)

After 8 pm, it is strongly advised not to leave the hotel, and it would be for the sake of it! But you listen to advice and as a result you feel like a diplomat in a besieged embassy in another country. An extremely littered city with the dominance of McDonald's, guarded by men with double-barreled shotguns. All this endless dump is crowned with a lone tree with a flock of shabby vultures guarding it. Here in the cartoon "Treasure Island" the same vultures watched every passing pirate. And in their eyes there was reflected Blind Pew. There is nothing else in this city.
p.s. Although the Honduras are very beautiful, in my opinion. And he can be trusted.

5. Bagan (Myanmar)

If you are not a fan of archaeological stupas, do not read any guidebooks and go around Bagan. Even from a balloon, at sunrises, sunsets, from under the ground - from everywhere, Bagan has already been filmed three thousand times. Stupas sticking out every ten meters in 40-degree heat provide little visual pleasure. There is nothing else in this city.

6. Kunming (China)

Kunming is a big, spacious city. But in a series of other Chinese cities that I met on the way, in Kunming there is nothing to catch the eye on. There is a cool red soil place near Kunming, but not a single taxi driver agreed to take me there with the hieroglyphs describing the right direction and the price. Which lowered Kunming even more in my eyes. There is nothing else in this city.
7. Cali (Colombia)

In Cali there is a garbage street - dirty people sit there and recycle garbage. Near it, a beggar approached me and said that I should not go there because “how to give a drink” they will rob. Perhaps if it were not for this advice, then Cali would have migrated to the list of cereal cities before Bogota and Medellin got there later. But I listened to that beggar and didn't go to that area. There is nothing else in this city.

8. Skopje (Macedonia)

I went to Macedonia with high expectations of something ethnically cool. But the capital disappointed with its routine. An incredible number of statues (it seems that the Macedonians erected monuments to everyone they can) in the middle of unremarkable architecture. The brightest flash was the Chichko Stoilko stall selling some kind of shawarma. There is nothing else in this city.

9. Guayaquil (Ecuador)

In Guayaquil, we lived on the outskirts of the city. But one day I got out to the center, walked around it and yawned, until I came across a fire in one of the shopping centers. There is nothing else in this city.

10. Medan (Indonesia)

A gray, unremarkable city in the north of Sumatra. In principle, Sumatra is not at all distinguished by some kind of charisma of its cities. Therefore, you meet the first tourist here on the fourth day of your stay on the island. But this is the closest of the Indonesian points to the talented Singapore. There is nothing else in this city.
11. Sancti Spiritus (Cuba)

Sancti Spiritus is still not quite deservedly located here. "Not a city, but an almshouse." Of the attractions - a mobile pub, which has a constant crowd of local bastards, and, it seems, the never-working cinema "Conrado Benitez" - just opposite my window. I lived in the central square. And housing ... I dreamed about this all my life. A huge hall with such sunlight that fills it with its fiery shades from 2 to 6 pm. But the euphoria from him is quickly replaced by longing. The city itself is boring. A typical Latin American yawning province. At the beginning of the third day, a biplane flies over the city. This is the most significant event of the day. On Tuesday, they laid asphalt - and at once on all the streets. One should have seen the bewilderment of the Cubans, unable to cross the street from one sidewalk to another. Well, there is nothing else in this city.

12. Vientiane (Laos)

The city consists of a waterfront. She doesn't even need a river. Moreover, neither one nor the other saves the situation. With the same success, Laos could place its capital in any other city on its territory. Didn't notice they were any different. Embankment, a couple of prostitutes, ... well, perhaps that's all. There is nothing else in this city.
In general, a strange warning “Not recommended for visiting ...” You still have to manage to get into such cities. But, in fairness, it should be noted that the impression of a particular city is formed by a lot of circumstances, ranging from the weather, ending with the company, the amount of alcohol consumed, and just luck and coincidence. And then the most depressing outback will sparkle with bright colors of adventure. Remember this always!

today I am reviewing the most boring cities in the world that I have had to visit in my centuries-old tourist career. Cities where nothing happens. Cities that, in their charisma, lose even to a dish called "jelly". The percentage of dullness of being is especially visible if you find yourself alone in them. Places where the most important thing, as my friend Nikitka says, is not to get sober. Otherwise, there is no salvation. Let me explain that in this case, it is boring cities that are considered, and not the so-called "assholes of the world." I'll do a review on greediness and city extreme sometime next time.

For the sake of patriotism and diplomacy, I excluded Russian cities from the list, although there were already 4 applicants! For even in the most boring cities I have friends (even if I don’t know about it), and pouring provocative dirt is not my method.

End place. Walking along Bandar Seri Begawan, it seems that there were more people in Chernobyl at the peak.
Well, not that there are no people at all, but there are no pedestrians! Everyone, absolutely everyone drives cars. During a three-hour walk, we met 3 (!) people walking. By Brunei standards, one might say they were crowded! Oh yes, another Chinese man was blowing his nose outside his shop. Okay, 3.5 people in total!!

Visiting this, one of the most developed countries in Asia, was the most absurd travel investment I have made in the last few years. Even a day to visit it is a lot. For two days in Brunei, I envied the citizens of Israel - they are not allowed here under any circumstances. There is nothing else in this city.

2. Kulyab (Tajikistan)

Kulyab is the last stronghold before the Afghan border and the road to the Pamirs. One hotel, opposite the market, between them - the road. All. This is Kulyab. A! the only other salvation in this city is the bus station. From here you can leave.
The entrance to the city is crowned by the inscription installed on the house "Do not leave children unsupervised".

For $70 at the Khatlon Hotel you will get a non-working air conditioner, a torn off cornice, turned-out light bulbs, mosquito corpses smeared on the curtains, and a refrigerator (and it was!) with a “minibar” in the form of an unfinished bottle of Cola left by previous residents.
Through the holes in the shower cabin, the hands of the guests from the lower floors could well stick out. Well, at least the light in the bathroom did not turn off at all - the switch was broken. Because the entire fauna of Kulyab, which lived there, still needed it for reproduction. At night, mosquitoes from there visited us with a return visit.
As usual, the ray of light is the locals. Kulyab - this is the case just when the phrase "But we have good people!" quite appropriate as a rescue. There is nothing else in this city.

3. Kuchin (Borneo, Malaysia)

If the orangutan hospital were not located nearby (and it is not located there), a trip to rainy Kuchin is meaningless. And for the sake of a pair of orangutans, it makes no sense to fly to Borneo. There is nothing else in this city.

4. Dakar (Senegal)

oh no ... Dakar is still on the list "The hottest cities in the world". The busiest city I have ever seen.

5. Tegucigalpa (Honduras)

After 8 pm, it is strongly advised not to leave the hotel, and it would be for the sake of it! But you listen to advice and as a result you feel like a diplomat in a besieged embassy in another country. An extremely littered city with the dominance of McDonald's, guarded by men with double-barreled shotguns. All this endless dump is crowned with a lone tree with a flock of shabby vultures guarding it. Here in the cartoon "Treasure Island" the same vultures watched each passing pirate. And in their eyes there was reflected Blind Pew. There is nothing else in this city.

p.s. Although the Honduras are very beautiful, in my opinion. And he can be trusted. I didn’t even find a photo from Honduras, so I am attaching a photo from Nicaragua. One hell.

5. Bagan (Myanmar)

If you are not a fan of archaeological stupas, do not read any guidebooks and go around Bagan. Even from a balloon, at sunrises, sunsets, from under the ground - from everywhere, Bagan has already been filmed three thousand times. Stupas sticking out every ten meters in 40-degree heat provide little visual pleasure. There is nothing else in this city.

6. Kunming (China)

Kunming is a big, spacious city. But in a series of other Chinese cities that I met on the way, in Kunming there is nothing to catch the eye on. There is a cool red soil place near Kunming, but not a single taxi driver agreed to take me there with the hieroglyphs describing the right direction and the price. Which lowered Kunming even more in my eyes. There is nothing else in this city.

7. Cali (Colombia)

In Cali there is a garbage street - dirty people sit there and recycle garbage. Near it, a beggar came up to me and said that I should not go there because "how to give a drink" will be robbed. Perhaps if it were not for this advice, then Cali would have migrated to the list of cereal cities before Bogota and Medellin got there later. But I listened to that beggar and didn't go to that area. There is nothing else in this city.

8. Skopje (Macedonia)

I went to Macedonia with high expectations of something ethnically cool. But the capital disappointed with its routine. An incredible number of statues (it seems that the Macedonians erected monuments to everyone they can) in the middle of unremarkable architecture. The brightest flash was the stall "Chichko Stoilko" selling some kind of shawarma. There is nothing else in this city.

9. Guayaquil (Ecuador)

In Guayaquil, we lived on the outskirts of the city. But one day I got out to the center, walked around it and yawned, until I came across a fire in one of the shopping centers. There is nothing else in this city.

10. Medan (Indonesia)

A gray, unremarkable city in the north of Sumatra. In principle, Sumatra is not at all distinguished by some kind of charisma of its cities. Therefore, you meet the first tourist here on the fourth day of your stay on the island. But this is the closest of the Indonesian points to the talented Singapore. There is nothing else in this city.

11. Sancti Spiritus (Cuba)

Sancti Spiritus is still not quite deservedly located here. "Not a city, but an almshouse." Of the attractions - a mobile pub, which has a constant crowd of local bastards, and, it seems, the never-working cinema "Conrado Benitez" - just opposite my window. I lived in the central square. And housing ... I dreamed about this all my life. A huge hall with such sunlight that fills it with its fiery shades from 2 to 6 pm. But the euphoria from him is quickly replaced by longing. The city itself is boring. A typical Latin American yawning province. At the beginning of the third day, a biplane flies over the city. This is the most significant event of the day. On Tuesday, they laid asphalt - and at once on all the streets. One should have seen the bewilderment of the Cubans, unable to cross the street from one sidewalk to another. Well, there is nothing else in this city.

In general, a strange warning "Not recommended to visit..." In such cities, one must still manage to climb. But, in fairness, it should be noted that the impression of a particular city is formed by a lot of circumstances, ranging from the weather, ending with the company, the amount of alcohol consumed, and just luck and coincidence. And then the most depressing outback will sparkle with bright colors of adventure. Remember this always!

Having passed through the whole of Norway, impressed by its beauty, we headed to the last point of this country - the capital of the state - Oslo. To be honest, after a week in Norway, I expected to see something similar from the capital, so I was extremely disappointed. Once upon a time, I planned to ride around Scandinavia, but purely in the capitals and without a car, and only now I realized what a huge mistake it would be.

There may be several reasons why Oslo was not impressed: the inclement weather that caught us on the trip for the first time, the huge parking prices of 300-400 rubles per hour, which simply did not allow you to walk quietly, although there were similar ones in Bergen and Alessun, and this did not spoil the impression, or maybe the first impression was spoiled by the Vigeland Park with its extremely frank sculptures.

This is the Royal Palace, it is reserved in Norwegian. It seems to me that our houses in St. Petersburg on Nevsky Prospekt are more impressive. Around it is the Royal Park.

The National Theater is also in the classical style.

One of the main streets of the city is the pedestrian Karl Johan, which stretches from the Royal Palace to the Central Railway Station. On it, as expected, shops, restaurants and souvenir shops are open. In this weather, it looked deserted.

The parliament building (Storting) looks much more elegant compared to the Palace.

We went to the pier, from here ships leave for those who wish to ride along the Oslo Fjord.

The 14th-century Akershus Castle is located here and is best appreciated and photographed from the water. But again, the weather was not conducive to this.

One of the main attractions of the city is the Town Hall. Entrance is free here, so we also went in to dry a bit after the rain.

Every year on December 10, the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded here, we were here about a month before this event. I remind you that all other awards in 5 disciplines: physiology, physics, chemistry, literature and medicine are awarded annually in Stockholm. I will show this building later.

This is a modern building for the center of Oslo, the construction of which lasted from 1930 to 1950. The style of construction and the red brick used reminded me a little of America.

The facade of the building attracts with very interesting clocks and, if you look closely, with non-standard brickwork.

Well, the newest attraction of the city is the Water Opera House, which was conceived back in the 19th century, and was implemented only in 2008. The building is ultra-modern, reminiscent of an iceberg and at the same time quite harmoniously integrated into the environment. The roof is built of inclined planes, which allow you to calmly climb to the highest point of the building, from where you can enjoy a magnificent view of the fjord and the city. The building looks especially chic from the water, and once again I regret that I didn’t manage to walk on the water along this fjord.

Ending the trip in Norway with the capital was, apparently, a big mistake, because it greatly spoiled the impression of the whole country that we had traveled before. Maybe if the weather had been better, the opinion would have changed, but I doubt it.

Although there are really interesting things in this city - museums that we have visited, and I will talk about them in the next part. It's worth coming here for them.